


The Wrong Man for the Job

by Malind



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Angst, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 12:02:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6237856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malind/pseuds/Malind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barret travels to Midgar to confront ShinRa about the new Corel reactor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wrong Man for the Job

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The Final Fantasy VII characters and universe are owned by Square Enix. I make no profit from this fanfiction.

The lobby attendant slowly placed the phone back onto the receiver, obviously reluctantly since it meant she'd have to focus back on the man in front of her desk, and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, sir, but he's in a meeting as well..."

Barret blinked, a twitch to suppress something far more extreme. "Seriously?"

Her smile went tight, well, tighter. The look didn't help his resilience. He'd been ready to blow five minutes before. Never mind that moment. He wasn't going to though. He wasn't, damn it! He wasn't going to since most likely the only reason he hadn't been kicked from the building at that point was because he hadn't actually acted on his hostility. Yet.

But did these people have any idea how far he'd come just to talk to someone? Wasn't there a single person who cared what was happening to his town?

Trying with everything in him to keep his voice low and even, Barret growled, "Really, there's not one single..." He swallowed to resist saying 'jackass', and said instead, "...'person' in this huge-assed, God-damned building who can see me right now?"

Eyes a bit wide, her peach-colored mouth opened. Then she looked away and closed it again. Then it opened again, then closed again. Then her eyes lit up as if she'd just had the most brilliant idea, one that would surely get rid of the large man whose hostile bearing seemed to take up the whole main entrance of ShinRa Headquarters.The look scared him a bit.

She grinned at him and wobbled a finger in his direction. "Let me try one more person." She picked up the phone again, dialed yet another number, the fourteenth one that late afternoon. Barret could just barely hear it ring a couple of times before he heard a dim voice on the other end.

 "Sir, there's a man here named Barret Wallace who would like to speak with you... No. He doesn't have an appointment... No, sir, no one else is available to see him..... Barret Wallace........ He'd just like to... Okay, I'll send him up." She hit the disconnect button and smiled sweetly, most likely quite pleased with herself. "I'll have someone escort you upstairs."

She dialed yet another number. Within a couple of minutes, an armed trooper led Barret into the elevator, pushing the top floor's button. The other man avoided all eye contact, or at least Barret assumed he did. With the ridiculous trooper helmet, it was difficult to tell. They left that elevator, entered another, and rode that one nearly to the top as well.

What Barret saw outside of the elevator's glass container deadened his heart. He couldn't help but press his hands to the glass as he stared out. It wasn't just Midgar or the reactors that got to him, although they were a sight in themselves. It was the land beyond, the deadness of everything surrounding the city. He'd heard when he was younger that Midgar had once been a bunch of separate towns. Prospering towns in a lush landscape. Seeing what he saw now, he knew with everything in him that this would be the way Corel would look all too soon. It almost already did.

_I should have listened to you, Dyne... I'm so, so sorry I didn't. But I'm going to make this right. For you, and your wife, and your baby._

The trooper led him into wide hallways to a corner of the building. When the trooper turned into an office to announce them, with the glass walls, Barret could already see who was inside and it almost stopped him dead in his tracks.

Why would that woman have sent him to _him_? What in the world could a SOLDIER, 1st Class SOLDIER Sephiroth, the war hero no less, do about Corel? That hag _had_ been just trying to get rid of him!

The trooper cleared his voice. "Sir?"

Having apparently been lost in concentration, Sephiroth looked up from his computer, turning his head to eye the trooper at the word. "Yes?"

"Mr. Barret Wallace to see you, sir."

The young man's cat-like aquamarine eyes had already left the trooper to eye the large man in his doorway instead. The SOLDIER nodded. "Thank you."

The trooper turned around and practically ran into Barret who, in turn, edged further into the room to let the trooper get by. Then Barrent went back to staring at the man who stared back. When the obvious staring contest continued on for a few seconds, Sephiroth pushed his chair away from the computer, turning it to face Barret full on, but didn't rise.

"How can I help you?"

"I..." Barret gritted his teeth, as pissed off as ever. His voice showed that as he blurted out, "Well, there's not a damn thing you can do to help! ...No offense. But I don't need someone from SOLDIER." He swept his arm out in some general direction. "I need to see those assholes in charge of the fucking reactors!"

"You have a complaint about the mako reactors?"

Was the man deaf?! "Yes, I have a fucking complaint!"

Glowing eyes didn't even flinch at the words or the accompanying swing of Barret's arms that clearly asked, _'Are you fucking deaf?!'_ Then the silver-haired man did something unexpected: He brought his elbows up onto the desk and pushed at his forehead with his palms, pushing long silver bangs that got in the way against his face. If Barret had to put a name to the action, he would have called it simple tiredness or perhaps resigning to fate.

How often did this man get what no one else wanted? Barret was guessing: quite often.

The whole of the reaction stilled some of Barret's wrath, at least for the moment. This man, this war hero from what he'd heard, didn't deserve it.

"Look... Sorry. I'm not tryin' to ruin your night here," Barret sighed out through the underlining wrath. Sephiroth met his eyes again. "I've been here in Midgar for two days now, and they just keep givin' me the fucking runaround! I-I didn't ask to see you personally."

The corners of the man's lips curled up just slightly as Sephiroth sat back in his chair, apparently accepting the apology. "It's all right. But I am heading out for the..." The man trailed off when Barret tensed up. Sephiroth pressed his lips together for a few moments before he sighed out, "Honestly, I'm done with ShinRa for the night. Look... If you want..."

The younger man eyed him thoughtfully and Barret almost found himself squirming. Almost. Squirming because he didn't know what the other man's thoughts or intentions were. Barret hated waiting, but he'd already done more than enough to blow up the situation, so he kept his mouth shut and tried not to fidget.

"I'm heading to a place in Sector 5 to drink away some worries, at least for the night. Would you like to join me?"

Dark brows shot up. Was the man asking him out? Was it purely professional? Although Barret had been anything but professional for the last two days.

"And then, tomorrow, I can help you find someone who you actually want to talk to."

"Uh, that's not what I meant," Barret blurted. Well, it had been, but he hadn't meant the other man to take it like a rejection.

Sephiroth smiled. "It is. You're not the first person to get the runaround here, trust me." The man saved a document, shut down his computer, and stood up, walking around the desk.

Barret noticed then what the SOLDIER was wearing: a crisp, unbuttoned, dark blue suit, over a strong, broad body, which clearly said the man had just been doing office work that day. His tie was already half undone, as well as three buttons of his shirt. Barret also noticed the length of his hair as it followed his motions. It was the longest hair he'd ever seen on a man, let alone a woman.

When he lifted his eyes again and met Sephiroth's, he realized the other man had been watching his blatant look-over. Barret closed his mouth, also realizing it'd been hanging open a touch. Then Sephiroth's smile deepened.

"Will you be joining me? You can tell me your concerns."

Barret frowned, looking down at the man who was a few inches shorter than him, who was a few steps away. "You said you're done for the day."

"I am." Sephiroth shrugged. "But I'll still listen."

The older man huffed, shaking his head, looking down. "No, I... Look..."

"Come with me. I'd like you to come. We can talk about other things if you prefer it."

Okay, so this apparently wasn't professional. This was... Well, just two men hanging out at a bar, right? Well, it wasn't like he had anything better to do for the night with no one else willing to see him.

Barret nodded, meeting the other man's brilliant eyes again. "Sure."

The silver-haired man's smile grew warm, so warm it made the taller man want to squirm a bit again. It'd been years since he'd had any urge to squirm, not since being around his wife.

His wife. He shook his head, shocked, angry with himself that he was letting his hormones get the better of him. He wasn't exactly old, but he wasn't young either, certainly not as young as this man. So he didn't have any excuse to be reacting this way. Damn his body that it did, though.

_God, am I just lonely or something?_

He couldn't even remember the last time someone had smiled at him like that. It wasn't exactly the same way as his wife had who'd loved him, but similar. And, no, not even Dyne had smiled at him like that for years, not since Corel had agreed to the reactor because of Barret.

Yeah, he was lonely, alone, he decided.

Dark eyes refocused on bright ones, and he realized Sephiroth had been watching him. He swallowed and mumbled, "Let's go."

The shorter man nodded and walked out the office doorway. "Thank you. I'll be escorting him out," Sephiroth said to the trooper still standing there.

He'd probably heard the whole damn conversation, Barret realized. Suppressing an embarrassed-for-many-reasons groan, he followed after the man who walked swiftly, with purpose. He had no problem following after, considering his own height, but he felt bad for anyone shorter.

Sephiroth definitely didn't want to be in the ShinRa building any longer.

Barret tried to ignore the stares in their direction from people in the hallways. There were a lot of stares and impossible to miss. This, Sephiroth and a companion leaving the building, was apparently something abnormal. Or Sephiroth just had a hell of a fan club. Neither would have surprised him.

After Barret's pointed glare to the lobby's attendant, the chill of impending fall weather came up on them when the doors opened. Outside, the day had dimmed considerably. But Midgar would never go fully dark with the sickly green light sprouting up from the reactors.

They continued onto the plate and past buildings. Past a lot of people doing double takes for blocks.

Seriously, didn't people know how to mind their own damn business? Didn't Sephiroth ever leave the building? Was it Barret himself? What in the world was all the interest for? If Sephiroth noticed, he didn't show it.

Eventually, they got to the bar, Barret quite unnerved by that time, and walked inside.

The bar ended up being a sushi bar. The older man almost had to laugh. He'd never had sushi in his life. The idea of eating something uncooked and, at times, still flopping had never appealed to him. In the least. Well, except when -

"Ah, sir, I have your usual table," A hostess with dark, flowing hair said with a broad, sweet smile.

Distracted from thoughts that were turning decidedly heated, Barret guessed she was from Wutai with her features and accent. That she was so happy to see Sephiroth was something in itself, considering the war barely done between ShinRa and Wutai.

"That sounds good," Sephiroth said with a smile that matched.

When Sephiroth smiled for real, the man was breathtaking, even to the older man, someone who normally didn't pay attention to such things. But Barret was so out of his normal territory that he couldn't help but notice what he otherwise wouldn't have.

The woman led them to a smaller wooden table with just enough room to not have to touch underneath, considering their long legs, Barret took another look around, noting that most people had gone back to their meals. Most.

Barret cleared his throat and looked to Sephiroth. "You always get people starin' at you like this?"

Sephiroth huffed, looking up from his menu. "People love gossip."

"Gossip?"

"Me and you?"

"Me and you... What?"

Sephiroth tilted his head slightly, considering him again. Barret really wished this guy would stop making him fidget. It was getting a bit unnerving, well, more unnerving.

And drinking buddies his ass... Barret didn't want to call it such, but couldn't shake the feeling he'd agreed to a date. What else could this be?

Did Sephiroth normally pick up people in the office or was Barret an exception? Was the older man Sephiroth's type? The bearded man couldn't really see himself being so. He was from a small town with not much worldly experience. And, well, he'd been around the block, several times, married and everything. He'd loved and lost so much in his twenty-nine years of life, he still couldn't wrap his mind completely around it all.

But, hey, maybe the Great SOLDIER Sephiroth got his rocks off on lonely, out-of-place, angry, loud, older men, Barret being five to ten years his senior.

Barret couldn't help his burst of laughter at the thought, which of course brought Sephiroth's attention back to him. Barret cleared his throat and tried to pretend to read the menu that had been placed there.

_Sword Dance sushi? Sea Worm temaki? Crazy Chocobo roll?! What the hell is in that thing?_

He put the menu down.

_God, I need a drink._

As if on cue, a Wutai waitress appeared, her slippered footsteps completely quiet. And then the woman and his companion started saying things that Barret couldn't understand in the least. Apparently, Sephiroth could speak their language and fluently. Outside of the pitches of their voices, the accents sounded more or less the same to his untrained ears.

Then the woman looked at Barret expectantly, pen and pad in hand.

"Uhh, some alcohol?"

"Yes, sir. Beer, wine, or sake?

"Beer."

"A bottle or glass?"

"Err, how about four bottles?"

"Light?"

Did he look like a 'light' type? "Heavy."

"Wutai or domestic?"

 _Good God, woman, just give me some damn beer!_ "Domestic."

"Would you like anything else?"

"No..."

She smiled, nodded, picked up the menus, and walked away. Barret blew out a huff and looked to Sephiroth. He shouldn't have looked. The SOLDIER was looking at him with an amused expression, one that clearly said he knew everything that was going on in Barret's head. If the other man didn't obviously come here frequently, Barret would have suspected Sephiroth had brought him here on purpose just to infuriate him.

Sephiroth sat back in his seat, his arms crossed over his suited chest, watching him for a moment, before he said, "Would you like to talk about your issues with the reactors?"

"Well, it's not 'reactors'. It's just one reactor."

"Oh. Which one?"

"The one in Corel."

"Oh... The one that was just built? You came all the way here from Corel, and no one has talked to you for two days?"

"Yeah..."

"There's an issue with it? There is a support line."

"It's not that kind of issue. I want them to turn the damn thing off. It's destroying our land."

Sephiroth frowned. "From what I understand, the reactor was agreed to."

"Yes, it was..." Barret shook his head, crossing his arms over his own chest, feeling the guilt of it all over again. He'd been the one to push the reactor, saying it would be a good thing for Corel. He'd been so wrong. "But they didn't tell us it was going to kill everything in its path."

The swordsman seemed to turn into stone as he stared at Barret who didn't know if that was a good thing or not. Then, slowly, Sephiroth began to shake his head. "They're not going to shut it down. I can tell you that right now. Your town agreed to have it there."

"But..." Barret closed his eyes and gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt. He couldn't doubt the truth in it. The people in that damn ShinRa building wouldn't even see him, for God's sake, let alone them doing something about it.

"I said I'll get you in touch with someone at headquarters, but... They're not going to do anything. I truly wish I could tell you otherwise."

Barret clawed a hand over his short hair, feeling frustrated tears welling up. He knew it was true. He didn't want it to be true. But it was.

This was like his wife all over again, when she'd passed away. He'd done everything in his power to save her, spent so much money on doctors who did nothing but kill her faster with their damn drugs and treatments. He'd basically killed her, just like he was killing the whole of Corel.

"Just-just forget about it. I don't wanna think about it anymore tonight." Four beers were placed in front of him. He wasted no time in twisting the cap off of one and chugging it down. Then he moved onto the next, ignoring Sephiroth's blatant stare, the man not even touching his food.

"I'm sorry," Sephiroth said finally, quietly, barely heard over the muted conversation in the sushi bar.

Barret finally met his gaze again and huffed, a sound void of humor. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

"You made the decision on your own for the town?"

"No... But trust me, it's my fault. They weren't gonna do it, but I rallied 'um, told 'um how good it'd be after. My friend, he was against it from the start... And he has a baby on the way. What kind of life have I made for that kid?"

Sephiroth just watched him carefully. He didn't offer anything.

And Barret didn't expect him to, nor want him to. He was old enough to understand the facts of what he'd done without something telling them to him. He was old enough to live in the guilt of his own making and stew in it. "Not the best supper company, huh?"

That drew another smile from the silver-haired man. "I wasn't expecting love and roses."

Barret made his best effort to smile back. "Good. 'Cause I didn't bring any anyway." He cracked open his third beer and swallowed that one down a bit more slowly.

"You don't like sushi, I take it."

"...That a serious question?"

"No, not really," Sephiroth said with a warm smile. "If you want, you can come back to headquarters, to my apartment, and I can make you something you might like better."

"You cook?" The older man was a bit surprised.

The silver-haired man shrugged. "It's calming when not much else is."

Barret had a feeling there was a lot behind those words, but he didn't feel it was his place to pry, so he considered the man's proposal instead, which included going to Sephiroth's apartment. Sephiroth's. First class SOLDIER Sephiroth's. Of ShinRa, the God-forsaken, cesspool organization that it was.

What in the world had he gotten himself into? How had this even happened in the first place? He had to be reading too much into Sephiroth's words. It would just be supper, right? Nice innocent supper.

Barret shook his head. What the hell was in this beer anyway? He looked down at the label to read the alcohol content. It read like normal beer, nothing extraordinary. And Sephiroth hadn't drunk a drop.

Trying to make sure he was understanding it all correctly, he asked, feeling like a moron, "You want me to come up to your apartment?"

"Do you want to come up to my apartment?"

Barret hated turnarounds, but maybe Sephiroth was feeling anxious about it, about him, about his response. Barret eyed the other man, trying to uncover any emotions there. Well, the man actually did look a bit apprehensive, no longer smiling, watching him back just as closely. The raven-haired man swallowed, then said, "Yeah, I'd like to."

Instant heat flooded him at the other man's smile. Sephiroth was actually beyond stunning. Not as his wife had been. But rather in a league of his own.

Years before, when she had been dying, she'd told him he would find another, that he was too young not to, that he would love them with all of his heart. He hadn't believed her. Hadn't wanted to believe her. He still didn't. But that didn't stop some part of him from not wanting to be alone, at least for tonight.

Sephiroth stood, walked to the hostess, and paid her. Barret followed after, grabbing his last beer. When he tried to pull out his wallet, the woman shook her head. "No, sir, it's taken care of. Have a good night."

A bit flabbergasted by the evening as a whole, Barret said his thanks and walked with the other man right back to ShinRa headquarters. Going back upstairs was silent. They exited a few floors south of Sephiroth's office.

"Don't get away from this place, do you?"

"No, not really," Sephiroth said quietly in the quiet hallway.

Knowing he'd touched a nerve by the man's stiff voice, Barret didn't go further into it. He leaned against the wall next to the door while the other man keyed in his code, then followed him in. Inside, when the light turned on, Barret noticed how barren the whole of the spacious space was. It had minimal furniture, just enough to know someone lived there, barely. The furniture was black metal with white pillows and throws. The curtains were black too, keeping out any hope of sunlight or green from the reactors.

When the door closed behind him, not hearing any footsteps, he turned around and saw Sephiroth standing up against the door, watching him. Barret couldn't deny that look, even if he'd wanted to.

And supper his ass... Or Sephiroth's ass...

That moment was the time to make a decision. And he wasn't sure how much time Sephiroth was going to give him. His length hardening at just the sight of the man's willing body, he walked back towards the door. cat-like aquamarine eyes looked up at him, the SOLDIER's breaths getting heavier by the moment.

Good God, the man was beautiful in his partially undone suit. He would have been more so out of it, the older man was sure. Barret reached up to man's tie, untying it, then pulling it from behind his neck by one end, letting it drop to the floor. During it, Sephiroth closed his eyes, his breaths heavier, letting Barret control the process. Apparently, it was going to be Sephiroth's ass tonight unless the man was going to do a turnaround on him midstride. Going with the flow, Barret then unbuttoned the man's shirt, revealing pale, perfect skin and muscle. How the man could have a waged war and not had a scar to show for it, Barret didn't know. But it was either unnatural or this man was just that good. Barret would have believed either.

Strong, brown-skinned hands pulled up the shirt, then undid it the rest of the way, before pushing both the jacket and shirt over his shoulders, Sephiroth coming forward to aid the effort, against him. At the contact, Sephiroth kissed the base of his neck and then trailed a wet line to the end of his jaw, right below his ear. The feel of his mouth and teeth over whiskered flesh made him want to slam the other man against the door. But he controlled himself, living in the moment.

Barret didn't want to remember the last time someone had done this to him. He wanted to keep the memory of his wife separate from this. And he didn't think about it. But it'd been a long time, far too long for his body.

When Sephiroth and Barret both got the shirt off of the man's arms, the younger man brought his hands forward and pulled Barret's pullover, collared shirt above his head, one of the best he owned, for meeting with someone at ShinRa.

Once over his head, the other man's soft lips immediately kissed the dark skin of his torso, before tonguing and nipping at the nipples there, drawing out groans from the taller man. Dropping the shirt, Barret caressed his hands over the man's shoulders and back, living the contrast of his darker skin to Sephiroth's paleness and silver hair, hair long enough to effortlessly grab ahold and pull on, or for them both to get tangled up in. He would have enjoyed either.

Hands, not his own, got caught up on the fastening of Barret's pants and quickly undid them, unzipping after, and pulling them down over his hips, along with his briefs, freeing his length, making him moan at the slightly abrasive sensation. Sephiroth's strong hands stroked back up after, kneading his backside, bringing their bodies closer together. The hardness rested between them only for a moment before Sephiroth's hand clamped onto it and ran greedy fingers over the whole length of it, before nesting in the coarse hair at his groin, pushing down there, making Barret all the harder until the flesh felt strained.

Sephiroth pushed him, urging him to switch places, and then crouched down and didn't hesitate in taking the length into his mouth.

"Shit," Barret breathed, watching the younger man swallow him down to the base. "Fuck."

The back of his head hit the door as his eyes clenched shut. He tried to hold back his impending release as the younger man worked his length with his tongue, mouth, and throat. ShinRa's prized SOLDIER definitely had experience. He didn't know how much and it wasn't really the time to ask, but yeah, it felt too fucking good.

Too quickly, an orgasm built up, and when Sephiroth pulled back to plunge yet again, Barret choked out, "Okay, okay, shhh..." while he grabbed the man's hair, forcing him to stop with his tight grip.

Dilated cat-like eyes looked up at him, threatening his orgasm even without the motions. The man looked so good with his mouth around him. A smile in his eyes, Sephiroth then sucked the head, drawing out pre-cum, making Barret shudder, then he let the tip fall out and crouched down fully, the taller man letting his hair go, untying Barret's boots. He urged each foot out, the older man using the door for support, and then pulled his pants and briefs down from his thighs and then off of his feet one at a time. The socks came off next and then Barret was completely naked except for the chain around his neck.

Sephiroth stood up gracefully, taking Barret's length back into his hand, stroking it, keeping it hard, as if he was going to get soft at that moment. The SOLDIER kissed the taller man, and then Sephiroth said next his lips, "You are so fucking beautiful," before claiming the mouth again.

The older man groaned into that kiss, the words playing around in his mind, making him harder, even as some part of him wanted to deny it for the sake of consistency. But as the stroking hand became more aggressive, he quickly lost the ability to even remember them, let alone care.

He just wanted in this man or Sephiroth inside of him. It really didn't matter at that point which. He just wanted him.

A strong hand grabbed his own, leading him to a darkened room Barret could only guess was the man's bedroom. Sephiroth turned on the light and Barret saw more black and white. The comforter and frame of the bed were black, with white pillows and sheets. The other furniture was black metal. Not in this room, nor the other, had there been a single picture or piece of artwork. Not even a potted plant or a doily.

In his own home, Barret could still see his wife's touch in every room. He doubted a woman had ever stepped foot into this apartment. If she had, she'd been promptly kicked right back out.

The SOLDIER really needed some variety, some color in his life...

"What?"

Barret refocused on the other man and realized he'd been frowning and tried his best to school it away. "Nothing, I..."

The frown found a home on Sephiroth's face. "I...?"

He didn't want to say anything. Definitely didn't feel it was his place.

Sephiroth stepped against him again so that they were more shoulder to shoulder than chest to chest, gripping his length, stroking it, bringing it back to a full hardness. Barret closed his eyes, his breath catching.

"I, what?"

"I just..." Was he really expecting an answer while he was doing that? The man had to be crazy.

"Tell me or I'll stop. I want to know what would make you have that expression."

Trying to keep some part of his mind, Barret gritted his teeth before he said, "It..." between heavy breaths. He wished the man would just leave it be, but he didn't dare try to distract him by taking him into his arms. Instead, he stood stiffly, his hands fisted at his sides.

"It..." the swordsman repeated.

Barret's head dropped back and he looked to the ceiling, not really seeing it. Fine. Fine, he'd say it!

"It just looks empty in here. Like..." The caressing didn't stop but definitely slowed down.

"Like what?"

He closed his eyes. "Like there's nothin' here."

The hand stopped completely at the words, and his eyes fluttered open, him completely regretting being so truthful. When he looked down, the man was looking up at him, his face nearly expressionless, but Barret could see thoughts in his eyes. The words had clearly meant far more than he'd intended. Perhaps Sephiroth had taken him to heart, taken them personally. But if he had done that, he'd probably done it for a reason, because it was true, at least to him.

Barret definitely didn't think it was true. "Sorry, I didn't mean -"

The SOLDIER silenced him with a kiss, quickly deepening it, tasting him. Barret moaned into his mouth when the hand began stroking again.

But he'd had enough of that. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the shorter man, pulling him against him, forcing Sephiroth to stop his motions. Then one of Barret's hands gripped the hair at the back of the younger man's head, holding him there so that Barret could trail a kiss over his jaw and down his throat.

Between a kiss, he whispered, "I didn't mean that at all, not the way you think."

Nearly breathless, Sephiroth said, "And what do I think?"

Well, he'd take a stab at it, since he didn't want Sephiroth to think that way. "You think that you have nothing, that you are nothing."

Those were concepts Barret understood completely himself.

The SOLDIER didn't say anything to confirm or deny it, which was more or less an agreement. Sephiroth's breath picked up though as he gripped the erection in his hand tighter, inducing just the hint of pain, but Barret's closeness still wouldn't let him stroke it.

Barret nipped at his chest and an erect nipple, tasting the nub and the beginnings of salty wetness forming on the man's skin. The man was so delicious, he could hardly stand it. When he'd reddened the flesh with both his mouth and whiskers, Sephiroth pulled his hand out from between them, grabbed Barret's hips, and ground himself against him, their length pressing together.

"Give me something then," Sephiroth groaned out.

The words made Barret moan. "I would give you so much, if I could, if you'd let me." The words lived half in the moment. But the other half, he meant them.

He pulled away, took Sephiroth's hand and led him to the bed. Draping his long hair over a shoulder, Sephiroth pushed himself up onto the plush mattress, removed his dress shoes with admirable speed. His pants came off almost as quickly, although the belt hindered him a bit. Then his briefs and socks were off, leaving the man's pale skin to greatly contrast with the black comforter. Even his pubic hair was silver, the older man noticed, right after he noticed the sizable cock turned upwards towards the man's hip. It twitched of its own accord and wobbled slightly with Sephiroth's heavy breaths. His body gleamed slightly with the sweat.

"Fucking hell..." The man was so unbelievably beautiful, he didn't know if he could touch him again. He didn't want to tarnish him in any way.

"I thought you had something for me. Or did you forget where it is?"

Cheeky bastard, wasn't he? Barret couldn't move though or he'd likely tear the man apart. Of course, he was probably underestimating the SOLDIER. The man had been to war, was a war hero without a scar to show for it. Either that was a lie, or there was much more to him than was immediately evident, after the cat-like mako eyes anyway.

And what was up with his eyes? Who had eyes like that? Surely the man wasn't part cat. Or was he...

"I think I'm losing you..."

Barret blinked, realizing he'd gone off on a tangent in his head. He huffed and came forward, getting up on the bed, straddling the younger man, who immediately gripped his ass with biting fingers. Barret groaned at the near pain, his length hardening again. He bent over and kissed the man's jaw before he whispered, "Just thinkin' about your eyes."

"You want to know why they're like this?" So close, Barret looked into those eyes, marveling at them. Sephiroth smiled. "Well, I don't know. But I assume it has something to do with my mother, Jenova. It's either that or something that was done to me while I was forming. I've always been like this."

Barret tried not to think about all that entailed, instead murmuring, "Well, they're beautiful. The color, I mean. I can't imagine a more perfect color."

Sephiroth's smile deepened as those eyes flickered over Barret's face. "You know... The way you talk to me, I'd imagine it's how you'd talk to a woman. And I get the strangest feeling you were married. Maybe even are?"

The other man was a bit too perceptive. Yes, he'd talked to his wife this way. Every day, in fact. He'd loved the smiles that glowed on her face when he spoke such words to her. He'd loved making her feel good, especially when she'd felt her worst.

"Yeah, I married, but... She died a few years ago of cancer."

The man below him stiffened up a bit, and Barret regretted saying it. It wasn't exactly bedroom talk.

"It's..." He didn't want to lie, couldn't say he was past it, for both his sanity and her memory. The woman still ruled his life. He thought about her every day and every night. "I love her. But..."

"You don't have to move on. Not yet, if you don't want to."

Barret looked down at the other man, searching his face. Was the man giving him an out? It appeared so. And a part of him wanted to take it all the sudden.

Sephiroth seemed to get that when he pushed at him, then slithered out from underneath him, shifted up to the pillows, and went underneath the blankets. His eyes inviting, Barret followed and slipped under them too. He curled up against the shorter man, bending his elbow, so he could rest his head on his hand, and kissed his cheek, then his lips. Sephiroth moaned lightly as the kiss deepened. Then Barret pulled back to study his face again.

_She wanted me to move on, but I just don't want to, not without her. Can't I do both? Have her inside of my heart and live?_

Maybe he didn't have to let her go, even if that was one of her last requests. Who said people had to do that to move on? People loved more than one person every day. It was possible. He just had to stop being sad every time he thought of her. The sadness was what was driving him mad with grief, not the woman herself. She'd been the best thing that'd ever happened to him. And if he could just learn to be grateful he'd had those times and try to find more of them, and do it with her in his heart...

She'd never wanted him to grieve every time he thought of her. It was the last thing she'd wanted which was why she'd told him to forget her, to move on.

"God... I love that woman so much. She wants me to be happy. She's always tellin' me..." Barret closed his eyes, feeling his gut tighten. He pushed away the words. Then he reopened his eyes and kissed the man again briefly as a distraction from the tremors in his heart.

"I'm sure she felt lucky to have your love."

Barret studied the man, thinking on the words for a moment, before he admitted, "Yeah, I s'pose she did."

"Anyone would, I'm sure."

Barret refocused his full attention on Sephiroth, realizing this man, this product of SOLDIER, wanted love as much as the next person. He smiled. And then, he couldn't help it as, mostly teasing, he murmured, "You want me to love you?"

The longing in those aquamarine eyes thudded his heart as he lost his smile. What in the world was he doing? What was he doing to both of them? He wasn't going to be in Midgar for long. He had to go back home. Sephiroth wasn't going to up and follow him. The raven-haired man was drudging up emotions that didn't belong, that had no place existing between them. How had a few hours with this man turned into something so...

God, he should have just kept his mouth shut, fucked the man, and left. Or better yet, never come to his apartment at all. Or hell, never even gone to his office in the first place. This whole trip had been a nightmare, and now look at what he was doing...

This beautiful man... Barret didn't know why Sephiroth was so lost and in need of love, but the man was, and Barret was on very thin ice at the moment. So thin, it was cracking, as the younger man's face reacted to his own face, Barret's face probably showing more than he'd wanted it to.

To calm them both, he kissed the other man again, licking him, wishing he could do more. He ran his hands over his body, worshiping it how this man deserved. Everything in him knew Sephiroth deserved it. Maybe the SOLDIER hadn't led the best life or done the best things, but he was still a good person, and anyone with the least bit of sight could have seen that if they'd bothered to look.

Soon, panting, Sephiroth twisted away, dug into the side-table, pulled out a bottle, and dripped some oil onto his fingers, rubbing it at his own hole. He offered some to Barret as well, who rubbed it onto his aching length. The SOLDIER rolled onto his stomach, spreading his legs. Barret shoved the covers away, so he could see them coming together, before he pushed slowly into the willing body, Sephiroth gasping and quickly moaning with each thrust.

Slowly, he rode the man, so lost in the heat of him. Sephiroth clutched at a pillow, practically sobbing his moans until Barret kissed his back over long strands of hair stuck to his sweat-dampened back. The younger man twisted his back, meeting his mouth. Barret had to still himself so that he could devour the sweet moans in that mouth, before Sephiroth's strength gave out, and he laid back down and took inside of himself everything Barret offered.

Every moan, pant, and movement of Sephiroth's body said, _'Yes, I want you to love me.'_ Barret hoped his own body said it right back.

When he heard Sephiroth come against the sheets with hitching's of his breath followed by deep moans and near spasms of his hips, Barret tried to ride it out, to not come himself. He wasn't ready for it. Fuck just getting out of there. He didn't want to. Sure it was probably the moment, but it was a moment he didn't want to end.

Somehow he managed not to and then pulled out, making the younger, panting man hiss slightly.

After a few moments, Sephiroth rolled onto his back, looking up at him, their shoulders touching. "You didn't come?"

Why hadn't he come? Perhaps because it'd make the end too final? Because he didn't have to leave? Or was it the opposite, because he didn't want this man to have that, have him? He wasn't sure. But it felt like something in between.

"You know I gotta go back home, right? I-I can't stay here."

Sephiroth came more awake with the words. "Yes... I know that. How much longer are you staying?"

"I... I didn't think I'd be stayin' even this long. It wasn't s'posed to go down like this."

The man's lips pressed together, making Barret want to kiss them to reveal their softness. How was he supposed to just walk away after this and act like it never happened?

Hell, never mind not going to the man's office; He shouldn't have come to Midgar in the first place. Yes, this was all officially a nightmare.

And this kind of thinking was what got him to this point in the first place. He had to get over all of this, let himself be happy and not afraid to want something, or his life was only ever going to be misery. That was exactly what his wife hadn't wanted, yet he kept doing it to himself over and over again.

But it wasn't like he and Sephiroth were going to get married or something. He _would_ go back home and Sephiroth would go on to do whatever it was he did.

Pulling him back to reality, the SOLDIER pressed under him, wrapping his legs around his waist, his eyes dark with desire. And Barret was only human. He took the man again, kissing him fiercely, as he fucked him, made love to him, gave up too much of himself to him to be good for either of them. And Sephiroth took it and gave back just as much.

It could have been the heat of the moment, but Barret wanted to have the chance to love this man. It probably wouldn't have worked. But it might have. It might have been something good. Months later, back home in Corel, when he heard of the great SOLDIER's disappearance, he had one more thing to regret, leaving him wishing it could have been, that he'd had the strength to make it so.


End file.
